Gas line installation cost
Running a gas line costs $15 to $40 a linear foot, with most household jobs between $300 and $1,200. The most common reason people need one is a tankless water heater, which draws four times what a tank does.
National average
$25
per linear ft
On this page
- What it costs
- Why the tankless line is its own row
- Sizing, and why it is not just about the appliance
- What a legitimate installation includes
- Frequently asked questions
- Can I run gas pipe myself?
- How do I know if I smell gas?
- Is flexible CSST as good as black iron?
- Can I convert an appliance from propane to natural gas?
- Do I need a permit for a grill line?
Running a gas line costs $15 to $40 a linear foot, typically around $25, with most household jobs landing between $300 and $1,200. A short run from an existing line to a new range is at the bottom. A new line to a fire pit at the end of the garden, with a permit and a pressure test, is at the top.
This is one of the few plumbing jobs where doing it yourself is a genuinely bad idea regardless of how handy you are.
What it costs
| Job | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Per linear foot, installed | $15 to $40 |
| Gas line to a kitchen range | $250 to $800 |
| Gas line to a dryer | $250 to $700 |
| Gas line to a new water heater | $300 to $900 |
| Gas line to an outdoor grill or fire pit | $400 to $1,500 |
| Gas line to a pool heater | $600 to $2,500 |
| Upsizing the line for a tankless water heater | $500 to $2,000 |
| New meter or utility service upgrade | $500 to $3,000 |
| Permit and inspection | $75 to $400 |
| Pressure test | usually included, ask |
| Capping an unused line | $100 to $300 |
| Adding a sediment trap and shut-off | $50 to $200 |
Why the tankless line is its own row
The most common reason a household needs new gas pipe is a tankless water heater.
A tank heater draws perhaps 40,000 BTU an hour. A whole-house tankless draws 150,000 to 199,000. The existing 1/2 inch line that fed the tank cannot deliver that, and neither can a meter sized for the old load.
So the quote for a tankless conversion often contains a $500 to $2,000 gas line and sometimes a utility meter upgrade on top. That is not a contractor padding the estimate; it is physics, and it is the single most common surprise in tankless pricing.
Sizing, and why it is not just about the appliance
Gas pipe is sized for the total demand of everything downstream of it and the distance the gas has to travel. Adding one appliance to a line that already runs a furnace, a water heater and a range can undersize the whole branch, and the symptom is not a failure. It is a burner that yellows, a furnace that short cycles, and a water heater that cannot keep up when the range is on.
A proper installer does a load calculation. Ask to see it if the job is anything more than a short run to a single appliance.
What a legitimate installation includes
- A permit, and an inspection
- The correct material for the location: black iron indoors, coated steel or approved polyethylene underground, and CSST only where it is permitted and bonded
- A shut-off valve at the appliance, within reach
- A sediment trap at each appliance
- A pressure test held for the required period, witnessed by the inspector
- Bonding, where CSST is used, which is a lightning safety requirement and gets missed
The permit is not optional paperwork here. An unpermitted gas line is a problem when you sell the house and a much bigger one if there is ever a fire and an insurer looks at how it was installed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run gas pipe myself?
In most jurisdictions a homeowner may do work on their own residence, and in most jurisdictions it still needs a permit and an inspection. Whether you should is a different question. A water leak is a mess; a gas leak is an explosion, and the failure mode is not one you get to learn from.
How do I know if I smell gas?
Leave the house first. Do not touch light switches, do not use a phone inside, do not open the garage door with the opener. Ring the gas utility from outside; they attend free and usually fast. Only after they clear it is it a plumber's job.
Is flexible CSST as good as black iron?
It is approved, it installs faster, and it costs less in labour. It must be bonded to the electrical grounding system, because it is thin-walled and lightning has caused failures where bonding was skipped. Ask specifically whether the bonding was done and whether the inspector checked it.
Can I convert an appliance from propane to natural gas?
Most ranges, furnaces and water heaters take a conversion kit for $50 to $200 plus labour, because the orifices and the regulator differ. Some cannot be converted at all. Check the model before you assume.
Do I need a permit for a grill line?
Almost always yes, and it is the one people skip most. It is also the one running under a patio where nobody will ever see it again, which is exactly why the inspection exists.
Read next
Tankless water heater cost$1,800 to $6,500per projectA tankless water heater costs $1,800 to $6,500 installed, typically $3,600. Most of the premium over a tank is not the appliance: it is the gas line and the venting.
Water heater replacement cost$850 to $6,500per projectReplacing a standard tank water heater costs most homeowners $1,300 to $2,600 installed. Switching fuel type or moving to tankless is what pushes the number past that.
Emergency plumber cost$150 to $300per hourAn emergency plumber costs $150 to $300 an hour against $75 to $150 in business hours, plus $150 to $350 to arrive. The emergencies that cannot wait are the ones where water is moving and you cannot stop it.
Plumber cost by state$75 to $150per hourA plumber bills $85 an hour in Arkansas and $140 in Illinois. A 65% spread on the same hour of the same work, and it is almost entirely wages.
How long does plumbing last$4,500 to $12,000per projectCopper lasts 50 to 70 years, PEX 40 to 50, cast iron drain 50 to 100. Plumbing is the system that fails quietly for years and then all at once, and the material in your walls says roughly where you are.